Concern for Your Family if You are a BRCA Gene Carrier

Being diagnosed with theBRCA II gene mutation for breast cancer answers a lot of questions for me. For one thing it helps me to understand how I could have been so careful with my health and yet developed breast cancer. I don’t have to wonder what I should have done to prevent it. To some extent we all ask that question after diagnosis wondering how we could have avoided developing the disease, but as my surgeon said “Cancer is not your fault.” I never believed it was, but nonetheless having a predisposition to the cancer still provides me with some insight. It also gives me something more to consider.

I have been considering how the hereditary factor may affect my children. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about “the Big Guy” asking me if the cancer I had was ran in the family. Lately I have been wondering about the lives of my two sons, their futures and their families. It will be years before either of them starts a family or gets married for that matter, but it will be a concern. My niece Nicole is newly married and expecting her first baby and since she tested positive for the gene mutation also, we are actually relieved that she is starting her family now in her twenties. When she finishes having her children she can turn her attention to talking steps to reduce her risks of developing breast cancer.

Sister and I inherited the gene mutation from my father. He battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Is this a cancer that my sons could develop? The Big Guy’s question certainly opened up whole new issues for me. Cancer has plagued my family for most of my life; I had hoped my children wouldn’t have the same issues. They have already had two grandfathers die of the disease, a mother diagnosed with breast cancer and a step father diagnosed with prostate cancer. We don’t dwell on it. Like most families we focus on our good times and our future. As a mother though I know we need to be equipped with knowledge to stay ahead of any cancer threats. So after five years of survivorship for me at a time when my doctor says we can relax our concerns, I am becoming more vigilant. For my kids sake, for my sake, for our future. I’m not quite sure what that entails, but it’s time to find out.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN

Kathy-Ellen is a Registered Nurse living in Michigan. In 2003, Kathy-Ellen was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. She was cancer-free from April 2004 until December of 2013 when it was discovered that...read more